Paying the Price
by RaeRaethehedgehog
Summary: Sonic goes away for training, leaving Amy all alone for who knows how long. Soon after, Amy cracks and leaves to get away from her memories...with Eggman's help. But what will she owe in return?
1. Intro

**Paying the Price**

**By: RaeRaethehedgehog**

_My 7th__ fan fic. _

_This is another…Sonamy!_

_I don't know how much I can keep this updated…but I'll try. I'm working on three things at once currently. Plus I have summer homework and a cat now! _

_Lets see how this works out._

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Sonic related. Sega and Sonic Team does.**_

* * *

"So, have you told her yet, Sonic?"

"Well…I,uh, I was-"

"You didn't tell her yet," The young twin-tailed fox said knowingly, still tinkering with a prototype of the Tornado.

"…No. But I'm going to tell her tonight." Sonic sighed and scratched his head, thinking of a way to get out of this, or at least a way to make this go smoothly.

"You can't hide it any longer. You know how Amy is. You better tell her," Tails suggested.

"Tell me what?" Amy walked into Tail's workshop; a big smile present on her face.

"Uh…"

Tails shot Sonic a death glare and threw down a screwdriver before leaving the room.

"Tell me what?"

Sonic scratched his head and chuckled nervously, "Eh heh heh. Nothing."

"_Come on you can do it! Tell her! She'll hate you but tell her!"_

"Um…Amy."

"Yeah?" Amy shifted her weight on one foot nervously, scared of what was going to be said.

"I'm…um, do you wanna hang out with me for a while?"

"_Great job! Perfect time to tell her when she's acting all gaga over me on a date, which will make her even more pissed when I get around to telling her. She's gonna murder me alive."_

Amy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped, "Y-you really want to?"

"Yeah." Sonic slowly walked over to Amy and draped his arm over her shoulder.

Amy blushed and giggled nervously, secretly trying to bite her tongue to keep herself from screaming.

Sonic slowly led Amy out of Tail's workshop, after telling Tails he was leaving, towards the direction of downtown Station Square. Amy sighed nervously, hardly containing the excitement that she was on a date with Sonic, AND he had his arm around her while he was walking with her. She snuck a glance up at Sonic, to see how his reaction was, but found herself oddly confused.

"Sonic?"

"Huh?" Sonic looked away from the sky, to Amy, and faked one of his signature smiles.

"You seem…distant."

"No. I'm fine. Really." Sonic assured Amy until she finally gave up and stopped talking.

***

"Wow, Sonic that was really fun! The rides, the food, and just being with you was great. You finally take me on a date, and to my favorite place. Thank you." Amy squeaked happily and jumped up from the bench by the colorful cotton candy booth and threw her arms around Sonic.

"Y-yeah. No problem," Sonic said quickly and gently pushed Amy off of him.

"_This was a bad idea. Well I better break the news to her now. Before I feel even worse."_

"Hey, Ames. How about we go somewhere real special before I take you home?" Sonic held his hand out to Amy, who gladly took it, and helped her up.

"So what did ya have in mind?"

"You'll see."

Sonic gently picked Amy up, bridal style, and took a deep breath before running off the direction of the Mystic Ruins.

***

"Okay…open."

Sonic removed his hands from Amy's eyes and took a step back.

"Oh my gosh!" Amy put her hands over her mouth, to keep from screaming and admired the scene. A beautiful stream flowed next to her, sparkling under the moon light. The grass was as green as it could get. There was a full moon overhead, greatly complimenting the area with a dim light that made it shine. There were so many stars, Amy stared up at the sky, in awe, almost forever.

"Ames?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Sonic this is beautiful!"

"Yeah…"

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Well, there is something I've been wanting to tell you for a while," Sonic announced nervously.

"Ok. Fire away," Amy laughed.

"You should sit down." Sonic grabbed Amy's hand and led her to a giant grey rock by the edge of the creek and sat down Amy down next to him.

"Well…," Sonic shook his head nervously and looked away from Amy's gaze, sweating furiously.

"It's okay, Sonic." Amy put her hand on Sonic's and gave it a gentle squeeze of encouragement, sensing he was nervous.

"I'm…going away for a while with Tails tomorrow morning."

"How long is a while?"

"Well I'm not sure exactly. I'm going to be training with Tails for however long it takes til I get better. Stronger. Ever since that battle with Eggman…"

"Sonic! That wasn't your fault. You got captured. It happens-"

"But I got everyone else trapped too! We all had to be rescued by _Shadow!_ I can't depend on him for anything. Ever. I need to train."

"So your gonna train til you get better? What if it takes months?"

"It might even take years. But I have too. I'm a hero. I have to stay strong."

"So you brought me on this date, to tell me that you were leaving, because you felt sorry for me?"

"No it's not that. I wanted to spend time with you."

"But only because your leaving!" Amy snatched her hand off of Sonic's and stood up.

"Amy, please don't. Lemme explain." Sonic got up and caught Amy's hand.

"No, thanks. You've explained well enough." Amy snatched her hand away from Sonic and darted towards the forest.

Sonic watched as Amy ran away, holding himself in place from going after her. He knew it would only make things worse if he tried to talk to her. Hopefully she would say goodbye to him before he left tomorrow.

***

Amy ripped through the forest, shoving branches aside, not caring where she was going. As long as she was away from _him._ She ran for who knows how long, looking back every second just to see if he was following her.

Everytime she let herself think about stopping, she thought of Sonic catching her, which only drove her to push herself harder.

After ten minutes of running, Amy jolted to a stop with her hand over her chest, heaving. She could barely look around to see where she was, due to the fact her vision was blurry from tears that were flowing freely down her cheeks. When she stopped crying long enough to study her surrondings, she found nothing familiar about where she was.

Amy fell to her knees and pounded her fist to the ground, sobbing loudly. She felt so tired she couldn't even stay up right and fell to her side; curling into a ball.

"_Why? Why is he leaving? Why did he take me on a date and decide to tell me the night before he was leaving. No wonder everyone has been so nice to me. Vanilla and Cream made me a dress because they felt sorry for me. Why couldn't they just tell me! How could they do that to me?"_

The young pink hedgehog shook violently and cried until her eyes were puffy and she couldn't produce anymore tears. After that she just stared in to the night sky, in shock, with a blank face.

"_What did I do to deserve this?"_


	2. Leaving

Amy's eyes shot open and she sat up quickly. Looking around her surroundings, sadly, she saw nothing but trees.

"_This isn't real it's a dream. I'm dreaming."_

Amy laid back on the grass and looked into the gray overcast. The shock hadn't quite hit her yet. It was as if she wasn't even awake. Nor did she wanna be.

***

"Come on, Sonic. We need to get going."

Sonic shook his head; breaking his thoughts. "R-right, Tails."

Tails threw a couple of bags into the back seat of the tornado and checked the fuel levels. He wasn't gonna take the chance of getting lost anywhere. Sonic emerged from the workshop with a small bag in his hands.

"Is that all your taking?" Tails scratched his head and studied the small gray bag Sonic had on his shoulder.

"Well, yeah. What more could I need?"

Tails shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the back of the tornado. _"Well that's Sonic for ya."_

Sonic flung his bag into the back of the tornado, not realizing it had fallen out and hit Tails in the head.

"Ouch," Tails cried and rubbed the back of his head. He was about to yell at Sonic, but noticed he was in some type of daze. His eyes didn't have that shine like they usually did, his face was in a frown, and he was staring into the sky.

"Worried about Amy?"

"Wha?" Sonic didn't realize Tails was directly in front of him, arms folded, and an eyebrow raised.

"No…well, she did take it kinda hard. I am worried about her. She hasn't went back to her house all night. I at least wanna say goodbye to her." Sonic sighed and leaned against the tornado.

"Don't worry about Amy. She's Amy. She'll forgive you eventually. She really likes you, Sonic. There's nothing She wouldn't do for you. You can make it up to her when you get back. But right now everyone else is outside waiting for our departure."

"Your right, Tails. Lets go," Sonic said happily. _"I just wish I didn't feel so guilty."_

Tails pushed a button and the garage to his workshop opened, revealing everyone outside waiting for them; except Amy.

Vanilla was standing next to Cream, holding her hand, and had on the biggest smile she could muster. Cream had tears in her eyes but smiled anyways. Knuckles just gave a thumbs up and had a half smile.

Rouge and Shadow had even showed up. Rouge was leaning on Knuckles and flirting. Shadow stood secluded from everyone, arms crossed, against a near by tree. No one could ever tell what he was thinking.

"Sonic, Tails, we're really gonna miss you! I wish you guys didn't have to go. Be safe," Cream cried. She ran over to Sonic and hugged him sweetly. Sonic stroked Cream's head gently to comfort her. Next, she went to Tails and pulled him into a hug.

"I don't want you to leave, Tails. I'm gonna miss you so much." Cream buried her face in Tails' chest and cried harder.

Sonic let the two be and went over to Knuckles. "I'm counting on you to take care of this place for me while I'm gone. I hope you can handle it."

"You bet." Knuckles pounded his fists togther and flexed.

"Well if your in too much of a jam, I just might have to come save you," Rouge cooed.

"Don't bet on it," Knuckles growled.

"Oh, and Knuckles. Take care of Amy for me."

Knuckles stopped smiling and nodded his head seriously. Sonic's eyes were intense; a scowl on his face. Knuckles could tell he was serious, so he didn't make any Amy jokes.

Sonic looked over to Rouge and gave a trademark smile and thumbs up before looking over to Shadow. Rouge nodded and went back to swooning over Knuckles. Sonic met Shadow's eyes and nodded. Shadow nodded in return and turned away.

"_Well I guess that means something coming from him."_

Sonic turned away and headed over to Tails. "Time to go, buddy."

Tails nodded and squeezed Cream tight before finally letting her go. More than anything, Sonic wished Amy were here and things weren't the way they were. Amy would be here, squeezing him hard, and not letting him go til he had to leave. She would beg him to stay and tell him she would miss him. Truth be told, Sonic would miss Amy as much as she would miss him. He just wouldn't admit it.

Tails and Sonic stood in front of the tornado, waving and saying there last goodbyes, before they turned away and got inside the tornado.

"_Bye, Ames. Even though you weren't here. I'm still gonna miss ya."_


	3. Help

_Wow. How stupid can I be? I skipped a chapter and forgot to put it up before this. I'm dumb!_

* * *

Amy finally stood up from the spot where she was all night. He was really gone. None of this felt real to her. She still felt numb. Like all of this was a bad dream and she would wake up any minute. And see those beautiful green eyes she loved so much. And that perfect smile.

"_Why am I playing myself?"_

***

"Here she comes," Knuckles whispered. He drew back from the curtain, joining everyone else by the door.

Amy's shoulders drooped as she slowly approached the front door to Tails workshop, expecting everyone to be there ready to swarm her. They would ask if she was okay, telling her she was stupid, and don't do it again. But what she got was completely different.

Amy pushed open the wooden door to Tails' secluded workshop. She found everyone standing there with fake smiles plastered on their faces.

"Hey, Amy. You okay?" Knuckles softened his hard expression and scratched his head.

Amy blinked a couple times, to make sure this was real, and nodded.

"We're glad you're okay," Vanilla said softly. She gave Amy a small nod and a heart warming smile.

"We were all worried about you," Cream said worriedly. She walked over to Amy and wrapped her arms tightly around the hedgehog's waist and buried her face in Amy's stomach.

Amy stood there awkwardly, arms still stiffly at her sides.

Vanilla found it odd that Amy, happy-go-lucky sweethearted girl, didn't hug Cream back. She usually would be considerate of Cream no matter how much she didn't understand what Amy was going through. Vanilla eyed Knuckles, until he caught her eye, and motioned towards the kitchen to give the girls a little privacy.

"My mother and I made you this beautiful dress last night. It was supposed to be for this morning so you could look special when…" Cream trailed off when she noticed a darkened look take over Amy's face and her fist clench together tightly.

"Um, Amy? You okay?"

"Stop asking me that!? Do I look Okay!?"

Cream jumped back, startled from Amy's outburst, and put her hand over her mouth. Seconds later, Vanilla and Knuckles rushed into the room to see what the s yelling was for.

Amy continued, "And stop feeling sorry for me! I don't need your sympathy."

"Amy, we just wanna help you feel better," Vanilla explained.

"You know what? I don't need your help." Amy pulled Cream off of her and turned to twist the door knob.

"Take that back," Cream whispered.

"What?" Amy turned and looked down to Cream.

"You take that back, Amy. You don't mean that. I know you don't. You just can't."

Amy started blankly at Cream. Tears began to cascade out of Cream's eyes and land on the wooden floor. Amy sighed and turned back to the door, hesitantly placing her hand on the knob. Cream, once again, threw her arms tightly around Amy's waist.

"Please don't leave," Cream cried.

Amy felt ther tears stinging her eyes and her lip began to quiver. She felt awful for all the nasty things she was saying to everyone, especially Cream. Being mean to her was nearly impossible. She was so delicate and like a little sister to Amy. But if staying there, means being watched constantly and dealing with memories and sympathy, Amy didn't want it.

"_I wish I could stay, Cream. But if that means my memories eating me alive, then I can't."_

Amy lightly slid Cream's arms from around her waist and opened the door. Cream slid onto her knees and buried her face in her hands. Amy looked back one last time, at Cream and the others, before turning and running away.

"We have to go after her!"

"No, Knuckles. It's no use. Not right now. She'll just run away again. We'll look for her later." Vanilla sighed and pulled Cream away from the door while trying to calm her down.

Knuckles sighed and dropped his head in defeat.

***

Amy stopped running after she made it into the forest of Mystic Ruins. She swiped her hand across her tear streaked face and took a deep breath.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Amy Rose."

Amy looked up to see Eggman staring down her.

"I'll go quietly," Amy mumbled. What was the use of putting up a fight? Sonic's not even around for her to be used as bait.

"What do you mean? What's the matter?" A big smile spread across Eggman's face, making his features darken into a sinister grin.

"_I can use this to my advantage."_

"Nothing." Amy shook her head and turned to walk away.

"No wait, Amy. I really wanna help you. Honest." Eggman raised his gloved hand as if taking an oath.

Amy looked at Eggman, eyebrow raised. He really thinks she's gonna believe him? Amy's many things, but gullible is not one of them. Eggman is a sly guy. Just not sly enough to get through to Amy. Maybe Knuckles, but not Amy.

Amy scoffed and started to walk away again.

"No, wait! Amy, please."

"Why are you still hassling me!? Sonic's gone," Amy hissed. Once she realized what she had done she immediately covered her mouth.

"Wha? Sonic gone!?" Eggman smiled innocently and lowered his flying device to the ground. "Where to?"

"None of your business," Amy growled.

"Listen, Amy. If Sonic's not here, I have no need to take you. So why not just tell me where he went," Eggman lied.

"I don't think so. You know what, I don't even wanna think about Sonic, let alone, tell _you _where he is."

Eggman shrugged and raised himself back into the sky. "Oh, I see. Your mad because Sonic didn't take you, his girlfriend, with him. He left you here alone. Now your stuck here thinking about him."

Amy felt her face get hot and tears develop in her eyes. "That…that's not true."

Eggman laughed. "You can't even say it straight. But that's okay, I'll just leave you here to think about your memories.

Eggman pressed a couple buttons and started to fly the opposite way of Amy.

"_Will Eggman really help me? Am I stooping that low?"_


	4. Deal

_**A/N: **How stupid am I? I forgot to put a chapter up before the last one I put up. I'm an idiot. Make sure you go back and read that. You don't have to the story still makes sense but it just shows what happened when Sonic leaves. Sorry_

* * *

"Is she ever coming back?"

"Sure she is, sweetie." Vanilla patted Cream sweetly on the head and pulled her into a hug.

Knuckles sighed and pounded his fist together. Not being able to do anything about the situation was really getting to him. "I'm gonna go for a walk," Knuckles mumbled.

"Okay, but don't do anything reckless," Vanilla warned.

"Hmph, yeah." Knuckles walked out of the workshop hastily, letting the door slam behind himself. As soon as the cool night breeze hit Knuckles face, he sighed and loosened up.

"What's with you?"

Knuckles looked up and seen Rouge flying over head; a mischievous look on her face. "Why should I tell you?"

Rouge dropped in front of Knuckles and crossed her arms over her chest. "No need to get snippy. Sheesh."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Rouge made herself comfortable and sat down cross-legged on the front step of Tails' workshop. She patted the spot next to herself and winked. If she was going to get anything out of Knuckles she would have to be nice, and hopefully get his attention while she was at it.

Knuckles didn't seem to notice the wink and plopped down next to Rouge, arms still folded and a scowl on his face.

"Come on Knux. What's the matter?" Rouge laid her head innocently on the echinda's shoulder and batted her eyelashes.

Knuckles sighed and gave in, " I'm worried about Amy. She hasn't come back yet. She might be in trouble. I wish Tails would call on the communicater already."

"Stop worrying." Rouge stretched her legs out in front of Knuckles, in hopes that he would notice, but failed miserably when Knuckles looked away at the same moment.

"Tails will call soon. Sonic's just as worried about Amy as you guys, if not more. Amy is a strong girl, believe it or not. She's okay."

Knuckles shrugged. "If you say so."

***

_Bang!_

Amy stepped out of the smoke and debris from the fallen door, hammer in hand. Her dress was coated with a thin layer of dirt and damp from perspiration. Her chest was moving up and down rapidly, but she still stood triumphantly; hammer slung over her shoulder. She placed her foot on top of a pile of newly wrecked robots and smirked.

A new set of robots emerged from the corner of the tiny gray room, red eyes blinking to life, stepping towards Amy. Amy felt her ear twitch slighty and spun around out of instinct.

"Sensor lock on."

"Not on my watch."

***

"Sonic gone, hmm?" A smile played across Eggman's face, "This is perfect for my plans."

Eggman flexed his fingers and started to punch his fingers down quickly along the keyboard that sat in front of him.

_Bang…Bang._

Eggman spun around in his black leather chair towards the door. A smile etched itself on Eggman's face again as he readied himself for the person on the other side of the door. This was going to be very interesting.

"_Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"_

Seconds later the metal door burst down revealing a pink hedgehog.

"I've been expecting you, Amy."

Amy stared daggers at Eggman and crossed her arms over her chest.

"_He just knew I was coming, huh?Could've did without the welcoming committee though."_

"I want your help," Amy said breathlessly.

"I knew you would. What can I help you with, my dear?"

Eggman smiled slyly and stood up from his chair to bow in front of Amy. In his eyes, Amy was very much vunerable, which means it's the perfect time to get inside her head. Without Sonic parading around, Amy was less confident about taking care of herself.

Amy took a step away from Eggman. "I…I just wanna get away for a while. The others are on my trail. I don't wanna go back there. I can't handle it."

Eggman's smile was fully spread across his face by the time Amy finished. Which is better? The fact that she came to him for help? Or the fact that she wants to stay with him? It was all to perfect. "So you wanna stay…with me?"

"You know what this is stupid. Forget it." Amy turned to walk away. She mentally slapped herself. Of all people why had she come to Eggman for help? The truth is that she was desperate. _Very _desperate.

"No, wait! It's not stupid. I really wanna help you, Amy. Honest. Trust me."

Eggman outstretched his hand towards Amy. Amy turned to Eggman; eyebrow raised. Eggman is never true to his word. What makes matter so different this time? Amy tried to think, but no other choice was clear to her.

"_What am I doing?"_

Amy sighed and placed her hand into Eggman's, "Deal."

***

"Hey Knuckles. What's up? You were trying to reach me?"

"YEAH I'VE BEEN TRYING TO REACH YOU! JUST WHAT THE-" Rouge snatched the communicator away from Knuckles and listened to Tails.

"Sheesh! Calm down, Knuckles. What's going on?"

"Thanks to Sonic's lovely little confession to Amy, she's gone missing," Rouge explained.

Tails moved the communicator away from his ear, due to the noise on the other end. The movement of the two wrestilng could be heard over the fuzzy connection until the connection was lost all together.

"Well so much for keeping in touch. Hey, Sonic!" Tails made his way down the cement stairs of an abandoned stadium they found in an deserted area while looking for a place to train.

The stadium was pretty old. The cement was cracked, the grass hadn't been cut and turned into a jungle, and the weight lifting equipment on the field was covered in cob webs. But thanks to Sonic and Tails handy work, well mostly Sonic's speedy cleaning, the place looked like it was brand new.

Sonic was stretching himself out before putting his hands on a pair of weights. He really was working hard. After him and Tails fixed up the stadium for their training ground, Sonic immediately started working out. Tails knew Sonic was taking his training seriously and didn't wanna add the weight of Amy missing on his shoulders. After reconsidering his decision, Tails turned away from the field and started to go get the sleeping bags.

"Where ya going, buddy?"

Tails froze in place. He gulped and turned to face Sonic, "Um…"

Sonic stepped in front of Tails and started to jog in place. "You talk to the others?"

Tails felt himself stutter, "W-well…about that. Maybe you should slow down a bit Sonic. Your going to over do it."

"Get to the point, Tails!"

"Well, er, Amy is kinda missing. I tried to ask Knuckles what happened but I lost the connection to him and Rouge."

Sonic's face dropped instantly and he stopped jogging in place. Worry and guilt started to set in over Sonic like a thunderstorm. What if Eggman got a hold of her and he wasn't there to save her? Knuckles, alone, might not be able to save her.

"I hope she's alright," Sonic said worriedly.

Tails sighed and patted Sonic on the shoulder reassuringly. "She's alright, Sonic. She's Amy. She'll be fine. What we really need to focus on is where we're going to be staying as long as we're here."

"Your right, Tails."

"I'll go get the sleeping bags. Looks like we'll be sleeping under the stars tonight, "Tails said before leaving.

As soon as Tails was out of sight, Sonic dropped to his knees and pounded the ground angrily with his fist.

"Amy…"


	5. Why we're here

Sonic lifted slightly from his sleeping bag and stretched tiredly. Thoughts of Amy played back in his mind, making it nearly impossible to sleep in peace. What if she was hurt? Sonic slapped his forehead and laid flat on his back, trying to get the horrible thoughts out of his head.

Earlier that night before Sonic and Tails called it a night, well Tails anyways, the two laid their sleeping bags across the middle of the stadium; centered under a cluster of bright white stars.

"What do you think they're doing right now, Sonic?" Tails slid under the sleeping bag and gazed dreamily at the stars overhead.

Sonic plopped under his sleeping bag and snorted, "Sleeping."

Tails rolled his eyes and turned on his side; deliberately facing away from Sonic.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Don't worry buddy. They're fine."

Tails turned back towards Sonic and smiled half-heartedly, " Do you think they miss us?"

Sonic shrugged, "Stop worrying and get some sleep."

"Your right. Goodnight, Sonic."

"Night."

Tails turned away from Sonic and threw the blanket over his head. Sonic laid flat on his back, hands behind his head, and one foot swung lazily over the other.

Before long Sonic could hear Tails soft snore over the crickets that could be heard very clearly. Sonic hadn't even shut his eyes yet. When he did finally get to sleep nightmares haunted him of why he was here now…

_Sonic's chest rose and fell rapidly, matching his heartbeat perfectly. The blue blur landed swiftly before Eggman and his enormous machine._

_This wasn't like all the other machines Eggman had built in the past. It tripled Sonic's size and it's claws glistened in the sun and looked as if they were a mile long. The machine stood on two thickly armored legs; nearly impossible for just Sonic to break. On the top of the machine, Eggman's flying device was stationed. Behind the machine were two see-through glass cages containing Tails, Cream, and Cheese._

_Sonic could see Tails and Cream yelling for help and Cheese overhead tapping the glass angrily._

"_Well, well your all tired out, Sonic."_

"_Nah. I'm just getting started," Sonic taunted._

"_Well too bad, your fun is about to end."_

_Eggman pushed a button, and before Sonic could even react, the robot lunged forward and grabbed Sonic._

_Sonic had never seen one of Eggman's robots move so fast, or be so strong. The only logical thing Sonic could think of was that Eggman had gotten a hold of a chaos emerald. But how many could he have?_

_Sonic tried to break free from the robots grasp, but had no avail. The grip around Sonic's waist was so tight, he couldn't even spin dash through it._

"_There is no need to keep struggling. Just give up now and make things easier for yourself and your friends," Eggman laughed._

"_I'll never give into you," Sonic spat. He squirmed from side to side, desperate to get free._

_Eggman couldn't help but smile at Sonic's feeble attempts to break free. Well, at least he was trying._

_***_

"_Come on, Shadow! Rouge is already helping, why can't you?"_

_Shadow scoffed, "Why should I?"_

"_Think about all the things Sonic has done for you. How else would you have learned about your past? Or Maria?" Amy stepped in front of Shadow and gently grabbed his hand, "Please."_

_Shadow stared blankly at Amy. The way her light green eyes sparkled with determination reminded him of Maria. Amy also cared about others unconditionally like Maria had. No matter how much Shadow said he had left his past behind, he could never forget._

"_Fine." Shadow lightly pushed Amy's hand off of his and turned to skate off._

"_Hey, wait for me!"_

_***_

"_Mmph." Rouge hit the ground and skidded back, with Knuckles following shortly after._

_Knuckles rose slowly from the dirt, bruised, and holding his shoulder. He still had a smirk present on his face. "Is that the best you got, Eggman?"_

"_Well, well. Aren't we tough? Poor Rouge couldn't even handle the first round." Eggman nodded over to Rouge, an amused look on his face. "I honestly thought she was stronger than that. Ah, well, lets see how you do against this."_

_Seconds later, Eggman's machine charged forward and uppercutted Knuckles towards the sky in the blink of an eye._

_All that could be seen was a red dot fly a good distance in the air before hitting the ground roughly. When the dust dissipated, Knuckles body was still besides the short, jagged breaths coming from his unconscious state._

"_Knu-" Shadow quickly placed his hand over Amy's mouth and pulled her back behind the crate they were crouched behind._

"_I told you not to get in the way," Shadow growled._

_Amy sighed and worriedly looked over to Knuckles. She was going to protest, but thought better of it. Shadow never listens any how._

_Shadow could see the worry written all over Amy's face. A frown had overtook her features, which didn't suit her very well. Her eyes traveled over to the see-through cages where Tails, Cream and Cheese, and Sonic were being held. Sonic was unconscious and sprawled across the floor with Tails and Cream standing over him._

"_Oh, no…Sonic," Amy whispered. Her face fell and her eyes filled up with tears. She tried to hold them back so she wouldn't seem like a baby in front of Shadow, but they started to sting. One slipped down her face, which quickly caught Shadow's attention. "We have to help him."_

_Shadow sighed and watched as Eggman disposed of Knuckles and Rouge in one of the glass containers. Shadow himself was stumped on how to take on that thing with Amy to worry about. If she wasn't here with him, he would've gone straight for the robot. But he knew Amy was careless, much like himself. She was especially careless when it came to__** him.**_

"_Stay here," Shadow growled._

"_But why! I wanna-"_

"_Sh! Just stay here and don't get us caught." With that said, Shadow skated off towards the robot and Eggman._

_Eggman noticed a red dot appear on the robots radar, speeding rapidly towards his location from behind. "So, someone wants to spring a surprise attack on me, eh? Well maybe I should surprise them first."_

_Eggman pressed a couple buttons, sending missles to his attacker._

_Shadow felt his ear twitch and could faintly hear a missle being shot and sped up. Shortly after the missle impacted the ground directly behind Shadow. The ground shook from the collision, causing Shadow to stumble._

"_Hmph." Shadow sped up and ran behind one of the glass containers._

"_Fool. The cages are glass. I can see you, Shadow the Hedgehog." Eggman grinned and pushed a button that launched a missle to where Shadow was standing before he realized what he had done. "Nooo!" _

_The missles impacted the glass with a loud shatter, causing glass to fly everywhere._

"_Pathetic," Shadow laughed._

"_When all the debris disappeared, Eggman could see Shadow getting ready to run for Tails, Cream and Cheese, and Sonic."_

"_Hold it, Shadow!"_

_Shadow skidded to a stop and looked up to see a giant gun pointed at him from the robots arm. Shadow growled angrily._

"_Some of the most simplest mistakes, are the best ways to overtake. Well at least I always say. Move another muscle and get blown to bits, my friend."_

_Amy watched helplessly from behind the crate. She could see Eggman's robot pointing a big gun at Shadow, keeping him in place. She could also see Cream and Tails with cuts all over them, from trying to protect Sonic. He also had cuts from what Amy could see._

"_Sorry, Shadow. But I can't stand here and watch any longer." Amy took a deep breath and ran towards the clearing in the middle of the junkyard._

_Eggman was to preoccupied with Shadow to realize Amy running up from behind, or so she thought. Sonic had been watching Eggman's every move and could see his eyes going towards the direction Amy was coming, his hand moving towards a button._

"_Amy! Look out!" _

_Amy stopped, shocked from Sonic's yell, just in time to see a missle launching from the robot's other arm. She froze in place; not knowing what to do. She knew she couldn't outrun that missle so she just squeezed her eyes shut and readied herself for impact._

"_Amy," Shadow growled and skated over to Amy and scooped her up before the missle hit. "I told you to stay out of the way. I can handle this by myself."_

"_Didn't seem that way. Look out!"_

_Seconds later more missles hit behind Amy and Shadow as they were running for cover._

"_Hold on," Shadow mumbled._

"_Wha-"_

"_HOLD ON!" Shadow leaped up from the ground, a missle landing where the two had just jumped from, and grabbed onto the ledge of a crate with one hand. Amy dangled loosely from Shadow's other hand. Amy could feel herself slipping and screamed._

"_I won't drop you," Shadow groaned. He never knew Amy was so heavy until now, or it seemed that way._

_Amy felt her glove start to slid off her hand, which made her panic more._

"_Look out!"_

_Shadow could her Tail's and Sonic's faint yells and turned around to see Eggman rushing them with the robot's gun ready to fire._

"_I c-can't hold on anymore," Amy whimpered. _

_Shadow held his breath and lifted Amy up onto his back with the rest of his strength. Shadow could hear the missles coming from behind but just held on helplessly to the crate. He felt something pull on his hands and looked up to see white gloves pulling him._

"_Knuckles," Amy said happily as she felt herself and Shadow be pulled up. _

"_Get off of me," Shadow growled and pushed Amy somewhat off of him._

_Amy mumbled a quick apology and got off of Shadow._

"_Come on! There's no time to just stand here," Knuckles yelled and grabbed Amy before gliding off the crate; Shadow jumping off behind them. Just as they hit the ground, it shook from the nearby missle hitting it's mark. _

"_Come on. We have to get you guys out of here. I can't handle Eggman safely with you guys around," Shadow demanded. Shadow grabbed Amy and threw her over his shoulder._

"_No! We can't leave without them," Amy argued._

"_Well we sure as heck can't get them back. It's impossible. Eggman really outdid himself this time," Knuckles said._

"_Well I'm not leaving!" Amy kicked and tried to squeeze out of Shadow's grasp._

"_We don't have time for this. I can do this myself. Your friends will be fine," Shadow explained._

_Amy could feel the tears build up in her eyes. She felt helpless, as usual. All she did was get caught. That's all she could ever do…so why not make it work to her advantage?_

"_Fine. Me and Knuckles will leave."_

"_What?!" Knuckles mouth dropped._

_Shadow stared blankly, shocked from Amy giving in so soon, and set her down. Shadow looked back at Amy and nodded before skating off._

"_Well come on, Amy. Let's go," Knuckles said holding out his hand._

"_Or not!" _

_Amy took off running towards piles of junk. She zig-zagged left and right to throw Knuckles off of which direction she was going._

"_Get back here!" Knuckles followed as fast as he could, but unfortunately was still wounded from his earlier battle with Eggman. _

_Amy couldn't help but giggle evily as she watched Knuckles hobble after her. Suddenly Amy made a sharp turn, which lost Knuckles completely._

"_Amy? Stop! I don't have time to play games," Knuckles growled._

_Amy pushed herself ontop of a pile of scraps so she could see over Knuckles and his every move. She watched as Knuckles babbled on and on about not having times for games. Amy waited til Knuckles was almost out of sight but had a clear view of the field where Shadow and Eggman were battling at._

"…_Here I go!" Amy yelled and hopped off the pile, stumbling to the ground. She got up quickly and darted across the field. _

_Knuckles turned and started to chase after Amy, but was far behind her. Amy was half way across the field by the time he was where she had fallen before she had gotten up and took off running._

"_Hey, Eggman!"_

_Eggman had stopped what he was doing as soon as he heard the yell and smiled. "Amy, my dear. Big mistake."_

_Eggman disregarded the fact that Amy had came without showing up on his radar and focused on catching her. A claw extended from the middle of the robot and outstretched towards Amy._

_Amy turned to run, but was greeted with the feelings of the claws gripping tightly around her tiny frame._

"_Amy! Amy!" Knuckles made it across the field in time to see Amy being grabbed by the machine's death grip._

"_Two for one," Eggman laughed. He pushed another button and a second claw extended from the robot's middle and grabbed Knuckles by the leg and flung him upside down. _

_Amy struggled to turn around in the robot's tight grip to see if Shadow had gotten the hint. Luckily, he had. She saw him making a run for it with Cream in his arms and Cheese holding on tightly to one of his quills. Tails had Sonic by the hands and was flying above Shadow._

"_Hmm. Now what shall I do with you two? My containment is ruined so I have no choice but to get rid of you. Your friends can't save themselves, let alone you."_

_Eggman rubbed his chin contently; satisfied with the sudden twist in fate._

"_You won't get away with this, Eggman," Knuckles growled._

"_But I think I already have, Knuckles."_

_Amy cursed herself mentally. She thought it would take Shadow only a split second to get the others out of here. But she was obviously wrong, because he still wasn't back yet._

_Eggman cackled and pushed a small button. Amy and Knuckles could feel the claw's grip getting tighter and yelled in pain. The claws dug into Amy's back and Knuckles' chest._

_***_

"_You guys okay?"_

"_Yeah, Shadow. Thankyou," Cream said happily._

"_Chao Chao Chao!"_

_Shadow gave a half-smile and turned to Tails and Sonic. Their conditions were a little worse. Tails had glass cuts covering him from head to toe, a deep gash under his eye, and was bruised and dirty. Sonic was bruised badly as well, just not as many cuts from the glass._

"_Thanks, Shadow," Tails said happily. He had a sparkle in his eye and a big smile on his face._

_Shadow looked down and met Sonic's eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something, he just hadn't figured out what yet._

"_I have to go back for the others," Shadow mumbled and turned to leave._

"_I'm coming too." Sonic struggled to get up from the grass._

"_No. You'll just get in my way," Shadow said rudely. Sonic wasn't going to listen, so Shadow knew he had to be blunt and get to the point. Shadow watched Sonic sit back down in defeat. His face fell and it could clearly be seen that this clearly was a blow to Sonic's pride. _

"_But Amy and Knuckles-"_

"_Wait, where is Rouge?" Shadow looked around for a second and realized she wasn't there when he had gotten Cream and Cheese. Shadow's face turned into a scowl and he skated off quickly towards the junkyard._

_***_

_Rouge swooped in at highspeed and kicked the claw that held Knuckles, shattering it completely._

"_What!? No! How did you manage to break that steel!? It's impossible."_

"_Not for me Doc," Rouge laughed. "Knuckie, get outta here! I'll get Amy."_

"_I-I'm not leaving without her." Knuckles glided down to the ground in front of one of the robot's legs. He took a deep breath and pulled back his fist. "This is for making a fool outta me!" Knuckles pushed his fist forward swiftly and impacted the robot's leg. His fist was stuck in the robot's leg, causing cracks to spread through out the leg._

_Eggman could feel the blow from the top of the robot and hit the controls to keep himself study. _

_Amy felt the claw's grip around her loosen til she was free falling. She screamed, realizing the ground was approaching quicker than she had thought it would._

_Rouge turned around too late to react, because she had been stunned by the strength of Knuckles' punch. _

_Amy squeezed her eyes shut tightly and braced herself. But yet, she landed softer than she expected. There was a thud, then nothing. _

_Amy opened her eyes and saw Shadow holding her against his chest. He looked down and met her gaze and scoffed. "That was a reckless move. Your lucky your plan actually worked."_

_Amy blushed at the fact the Shadow actually gave her a compliment, even though he was still rude about it. _

_Shadow ran Amy to the edge of the junkyard clearing and set her down gently. "Wait here," Shadow instructed. "I'll have Rouge and Knuckles come and take you with the others."_

"_What about you?"_

"_I'm gonna stay here…and fight."_

"_Without any help?"_

"_I don't need any help." Amy grabbed Shadow's hand and caught him before he could turn to leave._

"_Eggman is really strong this time. You need help."_

_Shadow snatched his hand from Amy and chuckled. "I'm the Ultimate life form. He won't stand a chance against me." _

_With that said, Shadow turned and skated away, leaving Amy by herself._

_***_

_Knuckles and Rouge stood side by side, breathing heavily, waiting for Eggman's next move._

"_What are we gonna do? His robot is still stronger than us."_

"_Leave it to me."_

_Knuckles and Rouge turned around and saw Shadow standing behind them._

"_No, we can all take it together," Knuckles argued._

"_Besides, Shadow. I'm not leaving you."_

"_Go," Shadow growled._

_Knuckles and Rouge could see how serious Shadow was by the way his features darkened instantly. His face didn't show any emotions at all and a scowl had etched across his face._

"_Go!"_

_Knuckles grabbed Rouge by the arm to signal to her that it was time to leave. She took one long look at Shadow. "Please, be careful," Rouge whispered before she turned away and picked Knuckles up. _

_Shadow watched the two fly off for a second before he turned his attention back to Eggman and got into a fighting stance._

"_It's time to end this," Shadow mumbled and ran straight for Eggman._

_***_

Sonic sat up in a cold sweat and gasped for air. He clutched his chest and looked around to see that it was a foggy morning.

Sonic once again found himself asking the same questions. Why couldn't I have been stronger? Why couldn't I have saved the others, not Shadow. How come everyone was more of a help than I was? Sonic could never find the answers to these questions, which made things worse.

Tired of thinking, Sonic got up angrily and stretched. Little droplets of rain fell from the sky, eventually turning into a heavy drizzle.

Sonic cursed the rain and the fog under his breath before he took off running. The blue blur could barely see where he was going, but nor did he care and kept running.

Sonic could hear the staduim stairs tapping under his feet over the sound of the rain pouring down. Usually the sound of the rain was relaxing, but hearing it pissed Sonic off even more. He started to speed up, suddenly regretting his decision as he felt his sneakers slide from under him, causing him to scrape his knee and backside on the concrete.

Sonic sat there in defeat and pounded his fist on the concrete.

"Sonic?"

Sonic looked up slowly and saw Tails and another figure standing over him.

"It's pouring out here and your soaking wet. Now isn't the time to be training," Tails said sincerely and offered Sonic his hand. He could see Sonic was clearly frustrated from trying to work to hard. Sonic grabbed Tails hand and pulled himself up.

"Who's that?" Sonic nodded his head in the direction of the figure. He was tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, and looked in his thirties.

"My name's Steve. I'm the owner of this stadium. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sonic the Hedgehog. Why don't we have this conversation somewhere alittle more dry?"

Sonic and Tails nodded in agreement and followed Steve to the lower level of the staduim where there was a ledge over the seats.

"So how did you meet Steve?"

"Oh, well I was looking for you when Steve found me. He knew who I was and asked me what I was doing here. Then he helped me look for you," Tails explained.

"See, I come here every now and then to check on the stadium."

Tails scratched his head. "Why isn't it used? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well it hasn't been used for quite some time now. Ever since my grandfather died 3 years ago, our community has too much violence."

"Oh…I'm sorry-"

"No it's okay, Tails. You didn't know." Steve looked out into the rain and sighed. "My grandfather…had a way with kids in this town. He used to have little events for the kids for free. They all used to love him. But one day, he got really sick…and he passed away. Ever since then…there has been a lot of violence. Our neighborhoods are full of crimes. Nothing is safe anymore. I just don't have the heart to open this place back up. It wouldn't be the same without grandfather. Or tear it down. So it just sits here."

"I wish there was some way we could help," Tails said and looked over to Sonic.

"We can help." A determined look spread across Sonic's face and his eyes sparkled with determination.

"How?"

"Now, Sonic. This is more dangerous than Eggman. Different too. These criminals don't hold empty threats like Eggman. They can, and will, kill you," Steve explained.

"I don't care. If that's what it takes, I'll do it."

"Sonic, don't you wanna think about this first? Think about our friends. What would Amy say if she knew about this?"

Sonic couldn't help but smile. He remembered all the times Amy wouldn't ever let him do something because it was too dangerous. The way she stood in his way, the look on her face, and how she begged him not to do it.

But she wasn't here. Besides, this is one of the best ways to train. To go into something you've never been up against. Learn how to over come new things. It's about time for a new adventure anyways…

Sonic smirked at Tails. "I'll do it."

* * *

**A/N: **I finally finished. Thanks to my motivation Rachel-1994. Hopefully it doesn't take this long to update again! Sorry this isn't my best!


	6. Homeward Bound

"Why don't you go find Amy Rose for me," Eggman demanded. His black shoe stepped down hard on the concrete and he pointed his arm towards the direction of the door.

"Will comply, sir."

Eggman watched as the newest model of his J-series exited the room. The J-series was only for basic things around Eggman's base. It was actually pretty stupid and had a lot of malfunctions. But Eggman found himself satisfied any how. A smile spread across his face as he twirled his mustache around in between his gloved fingers. It was time…

***

With a towel slung loosely over her shoulder, sunglasses in hand, and a fruit smoothie in the other, Amy walked into Eggman's artifical sunroom in his base.

She was sporting a one piece red bathing suit along with her traditional red headband and a pair of red flip-flops to match. Wearing a two piece in the presence of Eggman was inappropriate to Amy. Eggman was creepy enough as it is.

Amy set her stuff down neatly beside a white plastic sun chair and laid herself across it. A sigh of relief escaped from Amy's lips. She lazily flicked the bottom of her sunglasses in her hair and watched as they fell into place on her face. It really just felt like another day, although she should be going out…

"Amy! Happy Birthday," Eggman said in a fake cheery voice. He was awful at faking anything.

"Ugh. Don't remind me," Amy hissed and rolled her eyes from behind her sunglasses.

"How old are you, my dear?"

"Eightteen," Amy mumbled.

"You've grown so much," Eggman stated. He studied Amy up and down and grinned.

Amy shuddered under his gaze and quickly threw her towel over herself.

"So don't you think it's about time you started paying me back?"

"What?" Amy sat up and lifted the sunglasses from her eyes.

"You've lived here for three years. I've took you in. You owe me." The smile disappeared off of Eggman's face and was replaced with a hardened stare. Just like he wanted, Amy sunk back into her seat and distress started to play across Amy's face.

"But I thought-"

"I know what you thought, but you thought wrong. Oh, I almost forgot. I need you to buy yourself something nice."

Amy scoffed, "What for?"

"We need to round up some new members for our team. Sonic's back in town and-"

"Sonic's back?"

Eggman chuckled. "It's good to know you feel the same. Your expression is priceless. I can see it in your eyes. But that's beside the point…"

Amy's face fell. Eggman continued to babble on about his plans, but Amy couldn't focus. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. How could she have been so blind? Actually believing Eggman wanted to help her. Could she have been so vulnerable? Eggman caught her at her weakest moment and used it to his advantage. She told him everything…

At one point Eggman swore off trying to take over the world for a while. Well only because Amy was there. Amy thought he was being pretty gracious. He preferred that she didn't leave his base often. But he did let her go visit with her friends on the holidays.

But this whole time, all Eggman really wanted was to pit Amy against Sonic. She was _tricked._ At another point in time, Amy even promised Eggman she would repay him because she thought Eggman had good intentions this whole time. She was in eternal debt to him, in otherwords. After all she had lived with him for three years and never paid or did a thing. Except occasionally clean her room.

"…So I suggest a nice sundress."

Amy gave the coldest glare she could to Eggman. He smiled evily and snapped his fingers. The small J-series robot re-entered the room, rolling a cart with a birthday cake on it.

The sight of it made Amy wanna throw up. The cake looked like it was supposed to be vanilla by the white crust on the edges of the cake, but looked more like chocolate from the burnt middle. The cake was so charred, it looked like you could drop it and it would still look okay.

"Happy birthday, Amy," Eggman laughed and left the room.

***

"Did you get shot at!?"

"Was it beautiful!?"

"Where-"

"Guys! One at a time. And yes Cream, it was nice…most places."

"I missed you guys so much!" Cream squealed and wrapped her arms around Sonic.

"You look different." Sonic studied the now taller rabbit he was holding in his arms.

Sonic released Cream seconds later and gave her a pat on the head. She smiled at Sonic, her big light brown eyes sparkling. She then went to Tails and buried her head in his chest. Tails had gotten a little taller also.

"Why are you all standing outside? You boys must be very tired from all that traveling. Why don't you come in the workshop and sit while I make lunch? Sonic's favorite," Vanilla offered.

Knuckles, Rouge, Cream, Tails, and Sonic obliged and crowded inside the workshop.

Tails immediately started looking around. He almost had forgotten what it looked like. His books were still how he had left them, his tools were still sprawled across the floor from the Tornado's last tune up, and his bed was still unmade from the day he left.

"Tails! Hey," Sonic called up the stairs to Tails room. "Why don't you come downstairs? Everyone keeps asking questions and I can't answer them all by myself!"

"Okay. One second!" A glare from the glass of a picture frame on a dresser caught Tails' eye. But he didn't recognize it.

The curious fox inched towards the dresser and almost instantly started smiling. It was a picture from the day he had left. In the picture, Cream was holding him tightly, and a light blush could be seen on Tails' cheeks. Tails ran his fingers across the frame and smiled…

"Tails!"

"Uh…uhm. Coming!" Tails scurried down the stairs quickly and joined the others.

Knuckles and Rouge sat cross legged by the coffee table and Cream sat on the couch behind them next to Sonic. Sonic smiled when he saw Tails enter the room and patted the cushion next to him. Tails sat down quickly.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Wha?"

"Your blushing," Sonic pointed out.

"Oh!" Tails put his hands over his face and shook his head. "Ahh, it's nothing. It's a little hot in here."

Sonic raised an eyebrow and shrugged. It was actually pretty cool in the house, but oh well… "So before we start with our stories, lets start with yours. Since when did you start hanging around?" Sonic nodded his head in Rouge's direction.

Rouge gasped, " Can't a gal visit?"

Cream and Knuckles raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? Fine. I started hanging around more when Knuckles started needing my help to keep this place safe."

Sonic and Tails exchanged glances. "What do you mean safe, Rouge?"

"Well it was only a couple of times. We don't know if it was Eggman either," Rouge explained.

"I could've handled it myself," Knuckles mumbled.

Rouge scoffed. "Even Amy had to help."

Sonic's eyes widened. "So you guys have seen Amy?"

Cream and Knuckles frowned. "Yeah, here and there. Only when things really got outta hand and the holidays," Rouge explained.

Rouge stood up and went over to one of the shelves of Tails' study. She seemed to be looking for something. Seconds later she pulled out a picture frame and returned to where the others were

"Here," Rouge said and handed Sonic the picture frame before returning to her spot next to Knuckles.

"She looks so different," Sonic whispered.

"Yeah after you left she ditched the dress and the boots…well sometimes. Guess she wanted a change every now and then."

Sonic studied the picture some more. It must have been around Christmas because snow covered the ground and there was a snowman in the background.

Tails looked over Sonic's shoulder and noticed something funny about the snowman. It was frowning. "Who made that?"

"Whoever heard of a sad snowman," Sonic said sarcastically.

"Oh…Amy made that," Cream said quickly.

Cream remembered Amy ripping off one of her buttons off her green winter jacket and staring at it for a while. The button was pretty odd shaped. Almost like a tear…

Cream noticed a tear fall from Amy's eye. So She asked Amy if she was alright. Amy nodded and stuck the button on the snowman's cheek, said she had to go, and ran off.

Sonic instantly felt guilty and dropped his head back down, pretending to still be looking at the picture.

Knuckles handed Sonic another picture frame that was sitting on the coffee table. A pang of jealousy went through Sonic when he realized Amy's arms were wrapped around Shadow. Amy had her tounge stuck out towards Shadow, her face pushed up against his. Shadow had a blank lok on his face except for the light blush on his face. But Sonic convinced himself it was frostbite on his cheeks.

"When was this?"

"Christmas Eve," Knuckles said. "Rouge dragged Shadow over when she caught him on the outskirts of town. And Amy showed up at Tails workshop before we all went to the park."

"It was really fun," Cream added.

"Well enough about our stories. What about yours? I don't have time to sit around," Rouge mumbled.

"Oh right," Tails said. "What do you guys wanna know?"

"Well how did you guys train?" Cream asked.

"Well, we met this guy named Steve. He showed us a town that was never peaceful. But when we finally made the crime come to an end, we decided we were ready to come home. Steve offered us to live there. But we couldn't accept," Sonic explained.

"What kind of bad guys could possibly take three years to get rid of? Sounds like a bunch of balogney. I think you two met someone or something," Rouge blurted out.

"Uhm…met who?"

"Nobody, Cream. Very funny, Rouge," Tails shot back quickly.

Rouge was taken back at how fast Tails reacted. He was really defensive over Cream, she guessed. Rouge shrugged and started to flirt with Knuckles.

"Um…Sonic?"

"Yeah, Cream?"

"What's that scar on your arm?"

Sonic looked down at his arm, "Oh, this. It's nothing. Some hot shot cornered a girl in an alley. He pulled out a gun and shot me in the arm when he saw that I caught him."

"What was he? A thug?" Knuckles scoffed.

"More like a wanna-be. Got busted two minutes later. He ran out in the open like an idiot."

Vanilla stepped out of the kitchen, two trays of food in hand. "And here we are. Chilidogs, Sonic's favorite."

Everyone thanked Vanilla and put food on their plates. Sonic, of course, stacked up his plate with five chilidogs. By the time everyone finished their first, Sonic had aten three.

"Slow down, Sonic. Your dripping chili all over," Tails whispered to Sonic.

Sonic swiped his arm across his face and continued eating. Tails sighed and slapped his forehead in defeat. Face it, Sonic had no etiquette.

"Boys, after you finish eating and resting up, I think you should explore a little bit. Get re-aquainted with home," Vanilla suggested.

Sonic smiled and nodded. That was a really good idea. He missed running around home anyways. The ground he trained on wasn't the same. It brought horrible memories such as why he was there.

It also rained often there. In the mornings, the ground was mushy and Sonic's sneakers got all muddy. It really wasn't the same. Besides, it was about time he saw Amy…


	7. See You Again?

_Hey I'm Back! Internet feels so good. Sorry for the LONG wait. Forgive me._

* * *

"Thanks, Miss. I bet this dress will look amazing on you, whatever the occasion is." A middle aged salesclerk handed Amy a glossy pink shopping bag and smiled.

"Oh, it's just my birthday. No big deal," Amy giggled and grabbed the shopping bag off the counter of her favorite store, _Pink_. Ironic, huh?

"Oh! Well, Happy birthday, dear. How old are you?" The woman asked curiously.

"Eighteen," Amy replied before waving goodbye.

"Well have fun!"

"Thanks!" Amy called back before exiting the store. "Even though I highly doubt it."

A light breeze gently blew through Amy's quills, making them dance in wind. She giggled and looked up to the sky, letting warm rays from the sun caress her rosy cheeks. The sun seemed to have magical powers because it always seemed to make Amy feel carefree when she was worried most. Loud vibrations from Amy's purse interrupted her little moment. Amy had the first mind to curse, but bit her tongue.

"_Amy! Answer me NOW!" _

Amy quickly shuffled through her purse to find out where Eggman's voice was coming from. She never did own a cell phone. But instead of finding a cell phone, which she was hoping for, she ended up coming across what looked like a stick of chapstick with a button on the top.

"The things you go through," Amy mumbled and pushed the button. "He-Hello?"

"Yeah, Amy. Get to the Mystic Ruins. Near Tails' workshop. I've got a job for you," Eggman barked.

"What kind of job?" Amy questioned.

"Shadow is out there and I need you to do a little convincing to get him on our side. Oh, and do me a favor: Throw that dress on. Look nice and be nice."

"Ugh Wha-" A click came from the chapsick, "For?" Amy growled and tossed the chapstick back in her purse. She asked herself, why does she listen to Eggman? What could he really do if she just ran away and never paid her debt back? Oh yeah, he would take Sonic in her place.

Amy stepped through some thick underbrush to a clearing where Shadow stood. There was a small stream, glittering brightly under the afternoon sun, next to him. Although, he didn't really seem to notice its beauty. The shimmer seemed to rub off on him and make him seem…nice looking. Almost.

"Sh-Shadow?"

Shadow turned around slowly and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't look very amused or happy to see Amy. He had a nasty scowl on his face and his fists were clenched tightly to his side; it almost looked painful.

"Eggman wanted me to-"

Shadow rolled his eyes and interrupted Amy, "I know what he wants. But what are _you _here?"

"I-"

Shadow scoffed loudly and interrupted Amy again, "I knew you had been living with him. Now he's got you doing his dirty work. Well, tell him I'm not interested."

Amy covered her mouth in shock. There was nothing she could say really without telling a lie. Was it that obvious that she had been living with Eggman? If Amy didn't come back with Shadow, she was gonna be in big trouble…and so was Sonic.

Amy sighed heavily and patted down the bottom of her red sundress and pulled the top back over her chest, which she kind of struggled with because the material was made to tighten around that area.

Slowly she moved closer to Shadow. When she got almost close enough to touch Shadow, her red wedge had gotted caught by a tree root in the ground.

Before she could even react, Shadow had caught her by the waist before she plummeted into the water. With a quick glance to the side, Amy could see the water glistening beneath her and quickly threw her arms around Shadow's neck to keep from falling. She didn't trust him one bit.

Staring into Shadow's eyes was like staring at…nothing. His emotions were very hard to read, even through his eyes. It always seemed to look like _Hatred, _or _annoyance_. Oddly enough, Shadow could see how Amy was feeling very clearly. Her eyes were glossy and she couldn't hold eye contact long enough before she broke focus. Her cheeks were crimson red and almost looked hot to the touch.

Nerve finally came to Amy as she took a deep breath and leaned forward. Seconds later her lips were pressed against Shadow's. His lips weren't hard like she expected. They were actually soft like hers, only cold like ice.

As suprising as it was to Amy, Shadow hadn't pushed her off of him…yet. But she was terrified to open her eyes and see his reaction.

Amy slowly cracked an eyelid. Of course, Shadow was staring back at her. But what she saw confused her. His face was still as blank as before. Amy decided to pull away and wait for Shadow to say something. She waited for a while, but Shadow said nothing.

In the blink of an eye, cold water washed over Amy and engulfed her. Freezing cold water almost made Amy's body lock in place from shock. She struggled to move her arms and legs and swim to the surface.

Shadow could see Amy's pink head poke up from the water, gasping for air. "Pathetic," Shadow murmed and turned to walk away.

Amy swam over to the edge of the stream as fast as she could and stood up in the shallow part of the water. Her quills were drooping in her face and her dress clung tightly to her body. Rage was the only thing she felt before she was out of the water and walking up to Shadow.

When she caught up to him, she grabbed his arm and spun him around and quickly slapped him in the face. The sound seemed to echo for ages. Birds flew up out of trees and scattered in every direction. Instantly fear and regret hit Amy hard and she immediately regretted what she had done.

Shadow's face developed a smirk, "Haha. You shouldn't have done that."

Shadow inched towards Amy, skillfully backing her into a tree. Amy realized what he was doing a second too late when her back hit the tree hard. Shadow smiled in satisfaction.

"Whoa, Sonic! Slow down."

Sonic chuckled at the sight of his best friend trying to keep up with him. Tails almost looked hopeless. His golden tails were spinning furiously to increase his speed as he ran behind Sonic.

"We have all day to explore. Mystic ruins is big, but there is no need to rush!" Tails yelled.

Sonic ran through some underbrush under some trees and waited patiently for Tails. Seconds later, Tails came crashing through the trees and smacked right into Sonic.

"Ouch!" Sonic yelled.

"Ow. Sorry," Tails whined and rolled off of Sonic and sat up. Sonic kicked himself off the ground and dusted himself off for take off.

"Hey, what's this?" Tails muttered to no one in particular and picked up what looked like a stick of chapstick. But oddly it had a small, barely noticeable, button at the top.

"Bud, don't tell me you wear that girly crap," Sonic teased and snatched the chapstick away from Tails. The chapstick twirled between his fingers before it flew over his shoulder.

"Face it, there's no where to go."

Barely audible murmurs made Sonic's ears perk up, making him alert, and he turned in the general direction of the noise.

"Sonic?" Tails asked. He could tell Sonic was listening to something, he just didn't know what. Sonic's grin had disappeared from his face, leaving a frown in its place.

Parting a bush next to him, Sonic peeked through it. He spotted a familiar black hedgehog with red streaked quills standing in front of a pink hedgehog, who was backed into a tree. The pink one went to move, but was quickly slammed back into the tree.

"Why are you working for him?"

"Why do you care?"

"Who came to find me? You. So who's involved now? Me. That's why I care. And the fact that you were willing to kiss me, just to give Eggman what he wants. You were willing to give something special away to satisfy Eggman."

The words sunk in right away; Stinging and taking a stab at Amy's heart. She gave away her first kiss for Eggman, what else would she have given away? Guilt was the next to thing to hit. Her throat closed up and her eyes started to get really glossy.

"So what's going on here?"

Amy's heart dropped at the sound of that voice. She wished she could run away as fast as he could run to catch her. She didn't want him to see her like this. The situation was pure ignorance. Her _Begging _his rival, of all last time Amy remembered begging was for Sonic to return her affection. That was the last thing Amy wanted to go back to.

Shadow's head whipped around quickly; he smirked almost instantly. "Wow. Somethings never change."

Sonic chuckled and strolled over to Shadow and Amy.

Shadow tightened his grip on Amy's shoulder; she almost instantly winced in pain.

"I think you should let her go," Sonic demanded.

Shadow chuckled, "I think you're fighting the wrong person here."

"Well, for one, you're always wrong. Two, you are the person who is always wrong, so you're the right one to be fighting. Three, I think I'm right."

"Suit yourself." Shadow let go of Amy and turned to face Sonic; He drew his fist and let a familiar frown take over his face.

Sonic smiled and got into a fighting stance. "Why so serious? Just like old times, huh?"

"Of course," Shadow replied.

"Stop. Sonic this doesn't concern you," Amy said quickly and grabbed Sonic's shoulder.

Sonic was surprised by Amy's sudden intrusion to him helping her. The look on her face was serious. Sonic almost didn't recognize her. Her quills reached the middle of her back, her eyes were more of an intense light green; Sonic could see himself getting lost in them… She'd gotten taller (Only to Sonic's chin as of now), and she filled out in certain places.

"Actually, this is all about him," Shadow laughed.

Amy glared at Shadow. "It's not my place to discuss this right now. If I…" Amy trailed off; fresh tears had began to form in her eyes.

"You're right, Amy. It's not your place. You don't belong."

Sonic could feel his temper rising quickly. Something Shadow was saying was obviously hurting Amy. "Enough," Sonic growled.

"Amy," Tails called and came through the underbrush. "I think you should back up."

It wasn't exactly the time or place to mention to Amy that Sonic developed quite a temper when it came to her. On the trip, every time Tails brought up Amy to Sonic he got sore about it. Tails was guessing he hadn't exactly grown out of it yet…

Amy shook her head and stepped in between the two. "I'm not gonna let you two fight. This is my fault."

Sonic didn't exactly understand why Amy was, all of a sudden, sticking up for Shadow. She never did. He's also the one who is obviously trying to hurt her.

"Yeah, it is your fault," Shadow said quickly. His words were icey with a hard edge to it.

"Move," Sonic mumbled and pushed Amy back gently.

"No I can-'"

"Move!" Shadow pushed Amy hard, but not hard enough to really hurt her. She tripped over her wedges and fell back into the shallow part of the river.

Before Amy could even open her eyes and swim to surface, she felt herself being picked up. "Sorry, Ames. For everything." Amy had to rub her eyes to see and looked at Sonic before he set her down. He gently set her down on the grass near the edge of the river.

His eyes traveled up and down her body, before he jumped out the water and hurled himself at Shadow.

A light blush emerged on Amy's cheeks once she realized what he was staring at. He was staring at _her._ Seconds later, the blush turned to embarrassment once Amy realized she could've stood up in the water.

Sonic tackled Shadow roughly to the ground and delivered punches to his face. Shadow kicked upward, throwing Sonic off of him. A blue blur could be seen rolling over into the grass a little ways away from Shadow. Shadow saw this as a chance to attack and ran over to Sonic and let his foot lower over Sonic's body. Sonic rolled away just before Shadow's foot came down hard on the ground, then his body went down right along with it; Sonic then released Shadow's ankle.

"Maybe your training has done you some good. But not good enough." Shadow spun himself around and kicked Sonic in his chest and quickly got up. "Later, Hedgehog."

After that, Shadow was gone.

Sonic dusted himself off and got up. "Typical Shadow," Sonic muttered.

"Amy, you alright?" Tails asked.

Amy nodded her head and stood up from her place in the grass. She had been trying to dry off as much as she could in the evening sun. After loosening the grip the dress had on her body, Amy slowly walked over to Sonic. "Thank you."

"Uhm, no problem," Sonic said quickly.

The two awkwardly stared at each other, which made Tails highly irritated. Years of not talking, they should have plenty to talk about. So Tails' decision was made: Break the silence. "So, what are you doing getting mixed up with Shadow?"

Amy was stuck. She couldn't find the words to say, let alone make up an excuse. "I-"

"Shadow is loopy in the head," Sonic added and rotated his gloved finger next to his head. "You never know what's up with that guy."

Tails looked at Amy awkwardly. She quickly caught on and looked down.

"I have to go," Amy whispered and turned to leave.

"Wait. Well it was really nice seeing you again, Ames," Sonic said shyly. He pulled Amy back around by the arm and gave her a quick hug, well if you could call it that. Amy's arms were stiff and still at her sides. Sonic had to put his arms through hers to even attempt to get a hug. But the sweet smell of strawberries quickly flooded his nose, so it wasn't a total loss.

"Nice seeing you too," Amy replied. She pulled away and turned to leave.

"Wait, Amy. I need a word with you." Tails grabbed Amy by the hand and pulled her to the side, far enough away from Sonic's ears. He was frowning, which wasn't a good sign. "I don't know what you're up to, but I suggest you knock it off. I'm guessing you're associating with Eggman, but that's your business. You're my friend, but so is Sonic. If it came down to it, I'd choose him. He may have hurt you, but _don't _hurt him."

Surprise was written all over Amy's face. She knew Tails was smart, but she didn't think he was that smart.

"Keep in touch," Tails mumbed before walking away; Amy was left standing there.

"What was that about, Tails?" Sonic asked.

Tails walked past him. "Nothing. Let's go."


	8. Shortie: And If So?

_( Shortie: And if so?)_

"Did you guys have a nice run?" Vanilla asked. She smiled and patted down her purple dress.

"Fine," Tails mumbled and walked past Vanilla into his workshop.

"What's wrong with Tails, Dear?" Vanilla asked. Her eyes followed Tails the rest of the way inside.

"I don't know. We ran into Amy and since then he's been acting weird," Sonic explained.

Tails went into his garage and shut the door. The Amy thing was really getting to him. Thoughts surged through Tails head about what would happen if he mentioned his beliefs about Amy to Sonic. He would get sore and wouldn't believe him because he's in love with her. Happens in a lot of movies.

"Hey, Sonic. What's up with Tails?" Knuckles asked. His head popped up behind Vanilla seconds later. "He just walked by me."

"Maybe you should go talk to him, Knuckles," Vanilla suggested.

Knuckles nodded and disappeared inside. Knuckles' heavy fist could he heard pounding on the garage door all the way outside.

"Yes?"

"Tails, can I come in?" Knuckles asked.

"Uhm, sure." Tails answered awkwardly.

Knuckles came in the door followed by Cream, who was eavesdropping on Knuckles and Vanilla's conversation and decided to help out. _"Knuckles isn't exactly…smart."_ Cream couldn't help but giggle out loud.

"What's funny?" Knuckles asked.

"Oh, nothing. Hey, Tails," Cream said happily. She gave Tails the biggest smile she could. He couldn't help but blush and give her a smile back.

Knuckles stared at the two in disgust. Tails caught the look and exchanged a glare to Knuckles.

"So I heard Vanilla say something about you guys seeing Amy," Knuckles said.

Tails frowned. Cream caught it and instantly felt herself get confused. _"Why would Tails be mad about seeing Amy? That's all the gang ever talked about usually."_

"Yeah…she's…I don't know."

"What do you mean, Tails? What's wrong with Amy?" Cream asked worriedly. She was twirling the blue ribbon on her orange dress through her fingers nervously.

Tails took a deep breath before saying what was on his mind. He wasn't exactly sure how the two were going to react to it. "I have a hunch she's working for Eggman."

Knuckles immediately burst into laughter. The thought of Amy working for Eggman tickled him. The way she was crazy for Sonic, working with Eggman to hurt him would never cross that girl's mind. Ever!

"I'm serious. Amy got mixed up with Shadow before we saw her. I found a chapstick bottle with a button on top. In other words, it's a communicater. This would, most likely, be to complex for Amy to make herself. But anyways, Shadow kept saying we had the wrong person," Tails explained.

"Tails, that can't be it. Think about it. It's Amy," Cream shot back.

"It might not be, Tails. Shadow could have been trying to get out of the situation he was in by blaming it on Amy," Knuckles explained.

"Not likely. Amy has been shady for quite sometime now. Think about it."

"Well, she has changed." Knuckles grunted and scratched his chin. He hated to say it, but Tails did seem right. He also hated being wrong.

Cream got quiet. Amy had changed. She never did hang around the gang much, she didn't stay in touch, and she was barely happy when she did show up. Then she always made an excuse saying she had to go when she pretty much had just gotten there. The possibility of Amy working for Eggman wasn't very slim.

"You mean to tell me, that you let him get away?" Eggman questioned angrily. "Bad move. I think you need to make that up to me too. So why don't we start with Sonic."

Amy stood up and shook her head, "No!"

Eggman tapped his foot against the metal floor and raised an eyebrow.

Amy quickly got the hint and sat back down. "I mean, uhm… That's, I mean he's, the only reason I'm still here. I'm here so you won't hurt him," Amy stuttered.

She could see Eggman's patience was quickly draining. It wasn't that hard to guess that the evil gears turning in his mind weren't making good thoughts. He was probably ready to dispose of her all together if she wasn't careful.

"Haha. Either way he's still gonna get hurt if I want him too. But it would probably be worse if you left, just a little friendly advice."

Eggman could also tell Amy had about enough of his order. She was probably planning to leave. But if she does that, she'd have hell to pay. If Eggman couldn't get a hold of Sonic, he'd resort to Amy. Then Sonic would have to give into Eggman and he'd have both of them right where he wants them. Doesn't hurt to have a back-up plan.

Eggman sat back down in his leather chair and typed a couple of controls on the keypad to his mother computer. He twirled his mustache in his hand and turned to Amy. "So first things first. I want you to one: Change your clothes. Unless you wanna go for that hot girl with the wet look thing guys like. Two: Find Sonic. Get to know him a little better. You two have catching up to do," Eggman laughed.


	9. Me and You

_I'm still here xD But I guess the star symbol doesn't work to seperate stories anymore so they all look like one confusing mess. So I'll just have to seperate the different parts some other how. But yeah...I'm going to go watch sailor moon so here it is!_

_

* * *

_

Sonic could still hear the others talking from the garage underneath him. The garage _definitely _wasn't sound proof. No wonder you could always tell when Tails was working.

They had this crazy idea that Amy was working for Eggman. And of course, Sonic refused to believe any of it. In fact, he actually was dying to see her. She had changed so much, look-wise, and he wanted to see if her personality changed as well. Hopefully she would be easier to hang out with now that she's older.

"Shoot. That's what we forgot. It's Amy's birthday today. Am I the only one that remembers?"

**_With Amy..._**

Amy could feel her heartbeat and breath quicken when she caught sight of Tails' workshop. She had first mind to turn around and run. But the ironic thing was that she was doing this for Sonic.

So instead of running, Amy brushed off her white sundress and tightened the strings that tied around her neck. She then took a deep breath and stepped out of the woods behind Tails workshop.

The afternoon sun was setting, causing the air to be a little more breezy. The wind blew Amy's dress around, giving her that pretty girl with her hair blowing in the wind look. Well that's what Sonic thought when he saw her. She looked amazing, especially with the sunlight in the background. The soft glow enhanced her features.

Her eyes seemed to have this perfect shine the way the sun was hitting them. She looked like she could be a model. Her tiny frame looked perfect in the sundress she was sporting. It fit her just right. Sonic didn't know if her bangs were blowing in the wind or if they got stuck over her eye or what, but it made her look even more cute.

Sonic pushed himself away from the edge of the roof so she wouldn't catch him staring. He waited to hear the voice of somebody greeting Amy, but he heard nothing. He got curious and slowly peeked over the edge of the roof.

"What are you doing?"

Sonic jumped and turned around. "Eh…nothing."

Amy raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Listen, I just wanted to say sorry about earlier. I wanted to talk to you but…"

"Oh, don't worry about it. We can catch up now." Sonic patted the shingle next to himself.

Amy felt herself beginning to perspire heavily and a familiar feeling washed over her. "I-I think I should go."

Before Amy could even blink and turn to leave, Sonic was in front of her holding her arm.

"Please don't. I just got to see you again. I don't wanna leave things off on a bad note from when I left. Please," Sonic begged.

Amy couldn't resist the sparkle of determination in Sonic's eyes and gave in. Only so she didn't have to stare him in the face any longer.

Amy watched Sonic sit back down in his previous spot. She gave him a small smile and tucked her dress under her before sitting down. As soon as she felt the roof under her, she jerked over to the side. She had accidently placed her hand on Sonic's hand. He had noticed, but as fast as it was there, it was gone. A light blush appeared on Amy's face. She was clearly embarrassed. Sonic chuckled and put his hand on Amy's hand.

"It's okay, haha. Accidents happened." Sonic smiled and took his hands off Amy's.

Amy looked confused. The look on her face tickled Sonic even more than her blushing. It tickled him so much, he began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Amy asked. She was so embarrassed she put her hands over her cheeks and turned away.

"Ah, nothing. You just look different than how I remembered you."

"So you're saying I look funny!" Amy clenched her fist and instantly was on top of Sonic with her fist drawn back.

Sonic backed away and put his hands up in defense. "No! No! It's not that."

"Oh."

"Something's never change," Sonic laughed. He was happy he actually found a little piece of the old Amy he remembered.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Sonic said quickly.

"Mhm." Amy shut her eyes and kept them closed.

"Amy?"

"Yeah?" Amy patiently waited for Sonic to say something, but he didn't. So she finally decided to open her eyes and look at him.

"Happy birthday," Sonic whispered.

"Hu-" Amy couldn't even finish her sentence before wind was going down her throat. The wind was whipping her hair around in her face, leaving little stinging sensations across her cheeks. Everything was going by so fast, Amy could barely think about anything but to hold onto the person for dear life that was holding her.

Amy flung her arms around Sonic's neck and squeezed as tight as she could. She never remembered Sonic going this fast when he was holding her. She didn't think it was possible. Everything was a colorful blur flying by. Almost like another world where time stayed still because everything was going so fast.

"I said happy birthday," Sonic yelled over the wind.

"Is this your idea of a birthday present!" Amy yelled. She felt her eyes widen immediately.

Sonic jumped over a stream and landed safely on the other side.

"Don't remember our little runs together?" Sonic joked.

"I do, but they weren't like this!" Amy clutched harder onto Sonic. Not just because she was scared, but to be spiteful.

Too bad it didn't really bother Sonic. In fact, he enjoyed it. The sweet smell of Amy intensified due to her clinging on so tightly to him. She smelled really good, like sweet strawberry candy. That's nothing to complain about.

Seconds later, Sonic screeched to a halt, almost falling completely forward.

"Here we are, birthday girl."

"I'm eighteen, so technically, I'm not a girl."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Sorry, _lady_."

Amy rolled her eyes back. "So where are we anyways?"

The two were standing by a small cement fountain with cupid spraying water out of his arrow on the top. Gray tiles neatly covered the area around the fountain. On the sidewalk circling around the fountain, there were small wooden benches to sit on. To top it all of, neatly trimmed bushes circled around the whole area, protecting it from wandering eyes.

"A park…that nobody ever comes to," Sonic answered.

"I can see that," Amy said sarcastically.

Sonic smirked at Amy. "I don't remember you being so…"

"So?"

"Sassy."

"I've changed since you've last seen me." Amy huffed and playfully slapped Sonic on the arm as she brushed past him. She curiously peeked over the edge of the fountain to see if there was water in there.

"Looks like you need to be taught some manners." Sonic ran up behind Amy and grabbed her sides. With an effortless stretch of Sonic's arms, Amy was lifted up over Sonic's head.

"Sonic!" Amy yelled. "Do it and you'll regret it!"

Literally.

"Ah, I'll take my chances." Amy flew over Sonic's head and splashed into the water.

Her head popped up shortly after, making tiny ripples across the surface of the water. A spurt of water came out of her mouth, which almost looked like the water being shot from cupid's arrow at the top of the fountain. Sonic doubled over into fits of laughter.

"Ohh, Sonic," Amy said sweetly.

"Hmm?"

Amy splashed to the side of the fountain and roughly yanked Sonic's arm into the water beside her. Seconds later, Sonic resurfaced. A frown was present on his face, which kinda scared Amy. She never had seen him frown so much in one day.

"I bet you regret what you did now."

"Mhm."

In a flash, Sonic tackled Amy into the water and held her under for about a minute. When Amy resurfaced, she looked heated. Sonic squirmed under her gaze.

"Uhm, heh." Sonic laughed nervously and thought of an excuse. "Nice dress."

Amy looked down and realization hit her immediately. _She was wearing white! _Amy's face turned completely red. "I need to go."

"No, haha stay here."

"Why would I-" A burst of wind smacked Amy in the face before she even finished. Sonic was gone as well.

Water completely seeped through Amy's white dress, revealing Amy's…well, undergarments. Her hair had begun to tangle and goosebumps traveled up her body every five seconds due to it now being dusk; the wind had gotten chilly because of it.

"Here."

Amy jumped and almost completely fell back into the water, but thanks to Sonic's fast reflexes, he managed to catch her by the arm and pull her back up.

Sonic held the jacket out to Amy. "T-Thanks," she stuttered and grabbed the jacket and slid her arms through it.

The sweater was long and draped down to Amy's knees. Almost like a dress. "Who's is this?"

"Oh. Its mines. Training in the morning got pretty cold in the winter," Sonic explained.

Amy took her ankles out of the water, instantly earning Sonic's attention, and gladly accepted Sonic's hand to support her weight while she got out. The dress seemed to weigh her down, along with the sweater. Amy's hand was still clasped in Sonic's after she has gotten out.

"Uhm..."

"Sorry," Sonic mumbled and quickly let go of Amy's hand.

"So…you wanna go sit over there?" Amy pointed to a small bench in the surrounding area. This particular bench had a trimmed bush behind it with neon colored flowers.

"Sure."

Sonic and Amy slowly walked over to the bench and sat down. Amy made sure to sit arms length away from Sonic.

"I don't bite. I'm a hedgehog, not a snake."

Amy giggled. "I know."

Sonic grabbed Amy's arm and pulled her closer towards him. Their legs were touching by the time Sonic had stopped pulling.

"I don't remember you being this…" Amy trailed off purposely.

"This?"

"Touchy."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Whaddya mean?"

"Before you left, you didn't wanna be around me."

"Well, for one, you toned down a lot. And two, I missed you."

A light blush began to creep onto Amy's cheeks. Instantly she felt bad for being happy. Knowing why she was there, she couldn't let herself be happy.

Sonic smiled. "So what did you do while I was gone?"

"Uhm, a little of this, a little of that."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "The group said everyone only saw you during the holidays."

"Yeah…I was doing a little training of my own. How do you think I got on the roof?"

There was a long pause before Sonic spoke. "I…yeah." Thinking about it, Amy could already jump high. She wouldn't need to train for that. Something didn't match up. If she did train, she probably would have fought Shadow back.

"So how was your training?"

"Hard," Sonic said quickly. He never did like talking about it. Leaving his friends was the hardest part. Although, he had done it many times before, this time was the hardest by far. It was something he just didn't like to remember.

"Oh." Amy got the hint it was an uncomfortable subject for Sonic and didn't press any further.

"Is there anything you haven't mastered?" Amy asked.

"Hmm, no."

Amy cursed mentally. Eggman's not gonna be to happy to hear Sonic still doesn't have any known weaknesses other than water. "Oh, cool."

"You know, the pretty girls that always ask the hero their weakness, always end up telling someway or somehow. So even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you."

Amy huffed. "Are you insulting me inside a compliment?"

"Oh, I don't know. Am I?" Sonic smiled mischievously.

"Bet I could get it out of you."

"Really?"

"Really," Amy purred.

Before Sonic could react, Amy's leg swung onto Sonic's lap and her arms wrapped around his neck. Her lips curved into a mischievous smile.

"Scared?"

Sonic gulped and gently pulled Amy's arms from around his neck and put them to her sides. "Definitely…you shouldn't sit like that."

Amy rolled her eyes and took her feet off Sonic's lap. Suddenly reality hit Amy; she had to get back to Eggman. He was probably getting ready to call a search party in her absence. Which is the last thing she needed.

"I should get going. It's getting late."

Sonic laughed. "It's only 8:30."

Amy laughed at herself. "How do you know?"

Sonic nodded his head towards the giant brick clock tower in front of the park they were at. Indeed, the small hand was pointing to the eight and the big hand on the six.

"Haha, oh."

"Well, why don't we head back to the workshop?"

Once again, Sonic could see hesitation written all over Amy's face. She must have had an idea of the gang's suspicions. Something was obviously wrong with her.

Amy bit her tongue. "Uhm, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Oh, come on. It'll be fun."


End file.
